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bookcaptivated's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Infertility, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage
Minor: Kidnapping
spacemonkey25's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Animal cruelty
memydogandbooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Your next weird gothic folk horror read!
SYNOPSIS:
"After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.
It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear."
MY THOUGHTS:
- My mind was ALL OVER the place when I finished this book 🤯 I was in awe and also like thinking WTF!
- Beautifully written and captivating story about the physical and metaphorical loss of a child (so BIG content warning)
- Talking content warnings, there's also some body gore stuff, which ads to the plot, but is not for everyone
- Simultaneously unsettling and gripping! It starts out with a slow burn, then a third in you are like WHAAAAAATTT!
- Inspired by old fairytales/folklore gives this books very gothic horror vibes
- This is my first book by this author and definitely not my last. And in the meantime this book will sit with me for a long while.
SYNOPSIS:
"After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.
It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear."
MY THOUGHTS:
- My mind was ALL OVER the place when I finished this book 🤯 I was in awe and also like thinking WTF!
- Beautifully written and captivating story about the physical and metaphorical loss of a child (so BIG content warning)
- Talking content warnings, there's also some body gore stuff, which ads to the plot, but is not for everyone
- Simultaneously unsettling and gripping! It starts out with a slow burn, then a third in you are like WHAAAAAATTT!
- Inspired by old fairytales/folklore gives this books very gothic horror vibes
- This is my first book by this author and definitely not my last. And in the meantime this book will sit with me for a long while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death, and Body horror
kkalicky94's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Take my hand..."
When Madi moves back to her home town and reluctantly gives up custody of her daughter to give her a better life, she reconnects with Henry, who she never thought she'd see again. The two are drawn to each other for a higher purpose—figuring out what happened to Henry's son five years ago. They're in this together, for better or for worse, and the answer might just be something only a mother could love...
Okay, so this book was so surprising and unexpected—in a good way! I like to go into books blind, but at a certain point I had to go read the synopsis because I was confused about where the book was heading. I read it, confirmed it with what I was reading, then promptly threw it all out the window because, what the hell just happened?! This book was so much more than I expected, and I loved it all! This was just the right amount of creepy, mystery, and body horror for me to fly through it in giant sections each time I sat down to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, characters, dialogue, and content. I can't wait to read more from Clay! 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
When Madi moves back to her home town and reluctantly gives up custody of her daughter to give her a better life, she reconnects with Henry, who she never thought she'd see again. The two are drawn to each other for a higher purpose—figuring out what happened to Henry's son five years ago. They're in this together, for better or for worse, and the answer might just be something only a mother could love...
Okay, so this book was so surprising and unexpected—in a good way! I like to go into books blind, but at a certain point I had to go read the synopsis because I was confused about where the book was heading. I read it, confirmed it with what I was reading, then promptly threw it all out the window because, what the hell just happened?! This book was so much more than I expected, and I loved it all! This was just the right amount of creepy, mystery, and body horror for me to fly through it in giant sections each time I sat down to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, characters, dialogue, and content. I can't wait to read more from Clay! 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide
szyca's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Child death, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Body horror, and Suicide
emhold's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Miscarriage, Gore, and Murder
blacksphinx's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Suicide, Cannibalism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Self harm
minimicropup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
🇺🇸 Set in the Brandywine and the Chesapeake Bay area, Virginia.
POV: We follow a single parent getting by as a palm reader despite not professing any psychic abilities. They recently returned to their hometown and catch up with an old flame, which seems to have instigated some sort of psychic abilities in them.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Bizarro vibes in a swampy/coastal atmospheric setting
-Nature’s revenge focused on sea creatures and insects
-Supernatural amateur sleuthing, dashes of magical realism
-Themes and symbolism of grief, parenthood, non-biological family, entity, life, the meaning of family, the parent-child bond, hope, unconditional vs all-consuming love, nature, evolution, and loyalty.
—
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏️ Writing: The storytelling was first person and heavy on dialogue while light on exposition…it gave me this sense of being dropped mid-conversation into the characters’ lives. While that technique def added to the mystery, it also left me feeling disoriented, struggling to distinguish characters and settings sometimes.
🫥 Characters: The characters in this book were such a study in moral ambiguity, with each one slightly off-kilter. Their realistic, rapid-fire dialogue was a highlight, though at times it felt overwhelming (to me).
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting was well-crafted, providing enough sensory detail to imagine the world vividly. However, some descriptions were confusing, making it challenging to visualize certain scenes. Despite this, the sensory aspects of the narrative and the cinematic horror descriptions filled in those gaps, so I didn’t dwell on it.
🔥 Fuel: Everything initially hinged on the fate of a missing child and the mysterious circumstances surrounding a suicide. Then the emergence of a human-like creature added another layer of intrigue. There’s also amateur sleuthing and supernatural exploration.
🐢🐇 Pacing: The pacing seemed intentionally choppy, contributing to the evolution of the bizarre atmosphere. I found I was eager to uncover the truth but also wanted the story to conclude. Like no way was I going to DNF, but I kept wishing I had fewer pages left until the end. I don’t think it was a length issue, I think it was a fatigue issue on my part. It started to veer off into this bizarro, surreal territory that I kept drifting further from.
🎬 Scenes: No complaints here – the narrative exceled in crafting eerie and unsettling scenes, with a cinematic quality that vividly captured natural horrors and…transformative moments. In the end I wasn’t sure what happened, but I understood there was a symbolism in all the surrealism and grief themes.
🤔 Random Thoughts: This story merges the mundane with the supernatural, creating a unique blend of emotional and bizarre experiences. Overall, it was a surreal foray into the depths of grief and the inexplicable and was a unique narrative experience. It’s a book that might leave you perplexed and intrigued in equal measure, ideal for those who enjoy a blend of emotional depth and supernatural elements. I think this could be an excellent read for a book club discussion. It isn’t gory or gratuitous in the horrors and the ‘body’ horror is a vital part of the story. I think each reader may have a different interpretation.
—
Content Heads-Up: Missing child. Suicide. Loss of a spouse. Body horror, fluids. Estrangement from child. Grief (on page; descriptive).
Rep: The story features primarily White American and racially ambiguous American characters.
Format: Library via Overdrive
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
POV: We follow a single parent getting by as a palm reader despite not professing any psychic abilities. They recently returned to their hometown and catch up with an old flame, which seems to have instigated some sort of psychic abilities in them.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Bizarro vibes in a swampy/coastal atmospheric setting
-Nature’s revenge focused on sea creatures and insects
-Supernatural amateur sleuthing, dashes of magical realism
-Themes and symbolism of grief, parenthood, non-biological family, entity, life, the meaning of family, the parent-child bond, hope, unconditional vs all-consuming love, nature, evolution, and loyalty.
—
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏️ Writing: The storytelling was first person and heavy on dialogue while light on exposition…it gave me this sense of being dropped mid-conversation into the characters’ lives. While that technique def added to the mystery, it also left me feeling disoriented, struggling to distinguish characters and settings sometimes.
🫥 Characters: The characters in this book were such a study in moral ambiguity, with each one slightly off-kilter. Their realistic, rapid-fire dialogue was a highlight, though at times it felt overwhelming (to me).
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting was well-crafted, providing enough sensory detail to imagine the world vividly. However, some descriptions were confusing, making it challenging to visualize certain scenes. Despite this, the sensory aspects of the narrative and the cinematic horror descriptions filled in those gaps, so I didn’t dwell on it.
🔥 Fuel: Everything initially hinged on the fate of a missing child and the mysterious circumstances surrounding a suicide. Then the emergence of a human-like creature added another layer of intrigue. There’s also amateur sleuthing and supernatural exploration.
🐢🐇 Pacing: The pacing seemed intentionally choppy, contributing to the evolution of the bizarre atmosphere. I found I was eager to uncover the truth but also wanted the story to conclude. Like no way was I going to DNF, but I kept wishing I had fewer pages left until the end. I don’t think it was a length issue, I think it was a fatigue issue on my part. It started to veer off into this bizarro, surreal territory that I kept drifting further from.
🎬 Scenes: No complaints here – the narrative exceled in crafting eerie and unsettling scenes, with a cinematic quality that vividly captured natural horrors and…transformative moments. In the end I wasn’t sure what happened, but I understood there was a symbolism in all the surrealism and grief themes.
🤔 Random Thoughts: This story merges the mundane with the supernatural, creating a unique blend of emotional and bizarre experiences. Overall, it was a surreal foray into the depths of grief and the inexplicable and was a unique narrative experience. It’s a book that might leave you perplexed and intrigued in equal measure, ideal for those who enjoy a blend of emotional depth and supernatural elements. I think this could be an excellent read for a book club discussion. It isn’t gory or gratuitous in the horrors and the ‘body’ horror is a vital part of the story. I think each reader may have a different interpretation.
—
Content Heads-Up: Missing child. Suicide. Loss of a spouse. Body horror, fluids. Estrangement from child. Grief (on page; descriptive).
Rep: The story features primarily White American and racially ambiguous American characters.
Format: Library via Overdrive
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Body horror and Suicide
jordandotcom's review against another edition
dark
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Body horror, Murder, Death, and Child death
alexanderh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Chapman's language reeled me in but the twists kept me hooked. The body horror is so gross and compelling that I couldn't look away. I never really knew what was going on but that speaks to the great quality of their writing. They frame the story so that you can't help but feel the confusion and stressed-out parent horror from Madi's perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Miscarriage, Death, Grief, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death